


In the Afterlife

by assholicartist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Afterlife AU, F/M, Im too tired to type them all out, in the afterlife au, literally all other harry potter characters lmao, when lily and james died they go to the afterlife and follow harry's journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-05 11:14:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20487980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assholicartist/pseuds/assholicartist
Summary: Ever wonder how James and Lily will react to Harry's life? After being murdered by Voldemort, James and Lily went to the Afterlife and look after Harry from there. Span all seven books. As characters die, they will also appear in the book.Disclaimer: the characters are not mine and belong to J. K. Rowling. Many of the lines are also direct quotes from the books.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello fellas! Im a very inconsistent person so bear with my stupid updating schedule! Though I will try to update weekly.

Pop

James Potter found himself lying on the ground. It was soft, and the surrounding was bright. He quickly recalled how he was standing in his house's hallway, on Hallowe'en night, 1981. But then he was somewhere else.

He pushed himself up, straightened his clothes, his glasses were lying in his palm. Without the glasses, his vision was quite blurry. He put them on and finally managed to see the surroundings.

Surprisingly, he was inside his very own bedroom, but there's a slight difference: it was brighter and cleaner. He looked out the window and saw the sun was shining a bit too brightly. He then saw a gigantic billboard, which wrote:

"Welcome to the Wizarding Afterlife"

He froze for a few seconds. Then dawned on him: He was dead. 

"Shit. I'm- dead! I'm actually dead. It was so fast and painless... I died, but how?"

James tried to recall the moment before his doom. He remembered seeing a snake-like face, pale and monstrous. He remembered shouting to his wife to protect his baby son from the wizard - no, he's no human, he's a monster. He remembered the monster bursting into his house, and James himself was wandless. The monster was cackling madly, the blood-red eyes glued to him. The monster held his wand up, and there came a jet of green light that hit squarely on James' chest...

He swore loudly, thinking about his wife and his one-year-old son struggling with You-know-who all by themselves. He didn't want them to get here with him, too. He wanted them to live, to have a happy and peaceful life they deserve. He screamed internally, getting more and more furious with himself. He cursed the stupid prophecy, cursed Voldemort, and cursed himself for being such a useless husband and father.

But his train of thoughts was interrupted by a Pop.

James crossed his fingers, wishing it's not his wife or son, or he would never be able to forgive himself until his life ends-- wait-- his life had already ended. He shook the thought away and he felt his adrenaline rushing back. 

James turned around and saw a young woman with dark red hair slowly rising up from the floor in confusion.

"Lily?” Asked James, his voice trembling.

"James?" The woman questioned in surprise.

"No -- this can not be happening… Please no... Please say this is not real... Please say you are not dead -- " James muttered hopelessly, his lips barely open. He refused to believe Lily Potter was dead. He couldn't believe his wife was dead. His knees felt like giving out, and it seemed like the air were sucked out of his lungs.

Lily stumbled towards James and pulled him into a tight hug, her last tears were still running on her pink cheeks.

"We can only hope for the best, James... I tried, but..." Lily sobbed painfully. James ran his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down.

"It's not your fault that we're here. It's not our fault. You tried your best, I know that you always did." James whispered to Lily. He kissed her forehead lightly before she stopped sobbing.

Ding

The couple broke off from the hug and looked towards the source of the sound. A screen lit up and visible on it, there was Harry Potter, crying in his crib.

And there stood the Dark Lord, aiming his wand at Harry.

"You-know-who? That You-know-bitch is not going to send my son here!", Lily cried furiously, and James had to stop her before she smashed the screen into pieces.

"This is, apparently, the connection to the living world, you can not break it, Lil! We can watch everything we want to watch from here." James touched the screen, his eyes still on Voldemort's hideous face. His heart seemed to want to jump off his ribcages because he knew what would come next. The Dark Lord was going to kill his son.

"No! NO!” Bellowed Lily, and her tears started streaming her face again. She screamed in desperation, begging and holding James as tightly as she could. No one wants to see their only son die.

James was speechless. He froze and went completely numb. All he could feel was hopelessness, for he knew there was nothing he could do.

They both shut their eyes, Lily still sobbing, James still speechless, and --

"Avada Kedavra."

James' ears were buzzing, the sounds he heard seemed unclear after Voldemort cried out the Killing curse. He still could hear Lily sobbing vaguely, and himself easing her.

James' vision was also blurred. Even when the glasses were still on his face, his eyes seemed to malfunction. He found himself grasping Lily more tightly than ever after he saw the green jet of light fired out from Voldemort's wand...

And then there came a scream.

His eyes focused again, and his ears stopped buzzing.

He saw Voldemort vanishing. He saw the wall in Harry's room shattered. He saw the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead. 

"Lily. Lily." James shook Lily's shoulders. She opened her bloodshot eyes with a sob.

"J- James? Harry arrives, doesn't he?" Lily said weakly in tears.

"He won't."

Lily turned around and looked at the screen.

And she saw Harry's scar, too.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quite a short chapter, but the next one will be much longer!

"Damn! Damn damn damn! This is not happening!"

James was furious. He left his bedroom and stormed to the living room on the ground floor.

Lily was in the kitchen making some calming tea for James, as he had been swearing all morning. That day, James woke up to find out that Sirius was put into Azkaban without a trial, whereas the real criminal was Peter. He felt betrayed by Peter, guilty for doubting Remus, and angry to see innocent Sirius get caught.

"Come on James, drink some tea. It would help you.", Lily brought a tray of tea into the living room and sat down beside James on the sofa, her face frowning.

James didn't reply straight away. His eyes were still glued onto the screen, which was showing Sirius suffering in his cell in Azkaban. The dementors were drifting in the hallway and sucking the happiness from everyone. Lily touched James' shoulder, a tear ran down her face. She had been very worried for James recently. Since Hagrid delivered baby Harry to Dumbledore and McGonagall and the Headmaster put him in front of the Dursley's household's doorway, James was in a daily bad mood. And that very day, when Peter escaped in his animagus form, James couldn't tolerate it anymore. He wished he could somehow contact the living world, but it's impossible. He didn't choose to become a ghost, he chose to move on. James wasn't angry because he was killed, he was angry because now everyone else must suffer, from his best friend to his very son. All he wanted was to have a small, happy family, but a stupid prophecy ruined it all. And his son was stuck with a destiny to become the person who would vanquish Lord Voldemort.

"We're dead. Dead people don't need to drink tea.” James grunted. But he still took the teacup and drained it.

"James, I know this is not good news, but we can't do anything, we're dead like you said. But we can keep watching, and follow Harry on the journey of his life. This will just be like a long, long movie, right?" Said Lily gently, and she gave James a sympathetic, soothing smile.

"No! You don't understand, Lily! I want to be present in Harry's life, but now we are just a vague memory. We are not even sure if he remembers us!" James pinched his nose bridge, grunting in frustration.

"So we have to make sure we're still a part of his life by watching him from afar if we can not do it from a close distance."

James stared longingly at Lily, then he sighed.

"You are right. We can take care of him."

"And we're doing this together."

Lily and James looked into each other's eyes, and they smiled. At that moment, they know things were going to settle down just a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some ideas of what you would like to see in the future chapters! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much longer!

In ten years, Lily and James Potter looked after their son every day. They were both there to encourage Harry at every moment of his life. The only issue that he didn't know they were celebrating. The Dursleys were definitely a terrible foster family for Harry so Lily had to start getting used to James' complaints about how Lily's sister's family treated Harry. One of his usual comment when Harry was seven was: "They let our son live under the stairs? Couldn’t Dumbledore find a less abusive family? And he has to go to a Muggle school?" or "Maths? What the bloody hell is Maths? He doesn't need to learn Maths! He's too young for education! He should be playing with his toy broomstick instead!" and all Lily could do was soothing her husband hopelessly.

And finally, that day arrived.

"Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily! Wake up! It's time! It's time!" James woke up at 11:55 p.m on the 30th of July, 1991. His mood was much better since thirty dozens Hogwarts letters were sent to the Dursley's household for the past two weeks. James wouldn't stop praising about how brilliant Minerva McGonagall was to come up with the idea.

"Oh James, there is plenty of time left." Lily muffled in her pillow and pulled her blanket up her neck, while James was still trying to wake her up.

"Lily, Love, this is the special moment of our son's life! He will turn eleven in -- er -- ", James looked down at the watch on his wrist. " -- four minutes and twenty-three seconds! Now it’s twenty-two but just wake up! I would not allow you to miss this event, our son is going to Hogwarts, Lily Potter!"

"Right. I'm up, drama queen. I will call you Queen Jamie from now, then." Lily yawned.

"My name is James. Not Jamie, Lil." James crossed his arms.

"Anything you want, your Highness. So could you tell me what Prince Harry of the Potter royal family is doing, my Queen?"

"He's lying on the ground. Also counting down to his birthday." James looked quite offended but answered the question anyway.

"Thank you so much, your Highness! Without you, I would never have known! All hail, Queen Jamie of the Potter royal family!" Lily said sarcastically and flailed her arms in an exaggerated manner.

"Shove it, Lil." James scowled.

"Just kidding, Jamie!" Lily laughed.

"By the way, Harry must be very surprised to know that someone is actually celebrating his birthday, right? Those Dursley gits didn't all those years. Heck, they even told him we died in a car crash? What does “car” even mean?"

"Geez, where have all those Muggle Studies lessons I gave you gone to? I just have taught you about Muggle transportation five months ago!", said Lily as she fished out a marker and marked a line on a square which wrote "30th July" on the calendar.

"What's that?" Asked James curiously.

"The number of times you complain about the Dursleys."

James frowned as he saw the calendar was full of tally lines. He saw the word "High score" on top of the calendar which wrote "52". He frowned.  
"Can we please stay focus on the topic? There are ten seconds left!", said James excitedly as he checked his watch.

They counted down, as Harry was counting down, too.

"Three -- Two -- One --.", counted Harry, and-

"HAPPY BIR-"

BOOM!

A loud knock on the Dursley's hut's door interrupted Lily and James. Harry leapt off his feet in horror, just to find out the entire Dursley family had been woken up by the noise. Vernon Dursley held a rifle firmly in his hand as Dudley waddled towards his mother.

"Who's there?” Vernon shouted, still purple-faced and moustached.

"What the -- " James shot up from his bed. "No one is going to hurt my son! You're doing the right thing there, Vernon Dursley!"

"Woah, this is new. The first time you agree with the Dursley something. Need to mark this on the calendar, remind me. But James, calm down. I know what's going on." Lily smirked mysteriously, pulling James down.

"What do you mean you -- "

SMASH!

The door was hit terribly hard and it collapsed onto the floor, revealing the person behind it.

"Hagrid?” Said James half confused, half amazed.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."

"Smooth as fuck, Hagrid!" James cheered, dancing around the room as Lily facepalmed.

"That's pretty casual of him. I don't know if he intended it or not, but probably not." Said Lily, pulling James back down.

"Las' time I saw you, you were only a baby." Said Hagrid. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."

"Why does everyone say that?" said Lily, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes at the obvious, but slightly grinned as she recalled when the couple was still alive, and that was usually the first thing someone said after they first see Harry.

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" Vernon said, still seizing his rifle. "You are breaking and entering!"

"You old git let him say the truth!" James shouted at the screen, as Lily took out the marker and marked another tally on the calendar.

"Ah, shut up Dursley, yeh great prune," said Hagrid as he bent Vernon's gun into a knot and threw it into a corner of the room.

"I've never been so proud of Hagrid since the time he covered for me and Padfoot after we sneaked into the Forbidden Forest."

"I've never been so proud of Hagrid since he cured my owl." Said Lily, ignoring James’ backstory.

Lily and James saw Hagrid gave Harry the cake, and they both laughed at Harry and the Dursleys' reactions.

"It is golden, Lil!" James laughed uncontrollably. "Hagrid is making sausages!"

"He's savage!" Lily laughed alongside with James.

"You have to admit, Hagrid is being a sassy lad there!" James laughed even harder.

Hagrid was being very casual, which made the situation weirdly hilarious. In addition, Harry didn't get a thing, which tested James' patience but only made Lily view the situation in a less serious way.

"Do you mean ter tell me," Hagrid growled at the Dursley suddenly, "that this boy -- this boy! -- knows nothin' abou' -- about ANYTHING?"

"You are correct, Rubeus! He didn't know a damn thing because the idiotic Dursleys won't let him!" yelled James as Lily lazily marked a tally again.

"Er... I know some things," said Harry anxiously. "I can, you know, do Maths and stuff." Lily sniggered at her son’s awkward attempt.

"Abou' our world, I mean." Said Hagrid. "Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."

"What world?"

Lily and James sighed at the innocent question. Although, Lily was empathetic with Harry. She was a Muggle-born, after all.

"Hagrid is going to explode in two seconds, bet you five galleons." Said Lily confidently.

"No need to bet." said James, smirking.

"DURSLEY!" Hagrid boomed.

"See." Lily shrugged.

Hagrid tried to explain hopelessly how Lily and James were famous (as James nodded in agreement), and kept yelling at the Dursley for not telling the truth to Harry (with James encouraging him to do so). Vernon was angry, too. He probably didn't want Harry to discover the truth. No, wait, he definitely didn't want Harry to discover the truth.

"Harry -- yer a wizard."

"You tell 'em, Hagrid!" James cheered, shot up from his seat, again, while Lily just snickered at James' childish action.

"I'm a what?" gasped Harry.

"You're a wizard son! Just like me! My little Prongslet is a wizard you know?" James was overexcited, but it's fine for Lily anyway because there is no one else complaining.

Harry, who was still quite confused, opened the yellow envelope and started reading, his smile grew wider and wider after each line he read.

Suddenly, there was a sobbing noise. It was not Lily, it was James.

"My boy! Attending Hogwarts finally!" James sobbed hysterically. But Lily, who had known him for twenty years, knew that he was faking it.

"No offence, your Highness, but you should stop being dramatic." Lily bowed

Back to Harry, he was quite shocked.

"You knew?" said Harry. "You knew I'm a -- a wizard?"

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that -- that school -- and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was -- a -- a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

James turned to Lily. Her reaction was exactly like what he dreaded.

"But I -- she -- Tuney..." Tears started blurring Lily's eyes as she stood up, half angry, half sad. "But I loved her! I have never hated her! But she -- Tuney -- "

"Lily -- "

"Leave me alone!" murmured Lily, storming away from the room before James could say anything else.

James sighed, pinching his nose bridge and glared at the screen where Petunia was standing and gave her the deadliest look ever.

"You fucked up, Petunia Dursley."

\---------------------------------------

James crept down the stairs to the ground floor. He stopped and glanced at the screen in the living room, just to catch Harry questioning Hagrid about their death and Voldemort. James grimaced at the name. He kept walking towards the sobbing noise from the storage room, and he found Lily, clutching a picture frame of her family, including her and Petunia, and curled up in a corner of the room.

"Lil -- "

"I tried my best to make her laugh." Said Lily, her voice trembling. "I brought home magic things for her. I even let her play with my owl and asked her to go to Diagon Alley with me. But she -- "

"It's not your fault, Lily, she's just jealous because you have magic, and she doesn't."

"It's my fault because I scared her! If I have stopped boasting about my ability, she wouldn't have thought that I was a freak! She's just scared of my power!"

"It's not entirely your fault -- "

"But it's still my fault at some points -- "

"Your parents were a bit unfair, too. They adored you more than Petunia, so she felt jealous, she felt lonely. And didn't you tell me that she sent Dumbledore a letter to let her attend Hogwarts? She was jealous of your ability, not scared of it. It's her fault too, that her jealousy turned into loathing. It's her fault that -- "

"Don’t blame her -- "

"No, I mean -- "

"You mean Petunia was jealous of me because I have magic? If that's what you mean, the world will be much better if I wasn't born with magic, isn't it?” Said Lily, standing up.

"I -- "

"Or it's even better if I was never born?"

James and Lily stood still, staring at each other for a moment in silence. Lily looked surprised with what she just said.

"Come here." Said James, opened up his arms to Lily, and less than a second later, she had already fallen into his firm muscles.

"I'm sorry, James, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you or say all of those things! If I was never born, neither was Harry. Who would've defeated You-Know-Who?" Lily cried, tears falling down her face, onto James' shirt, wetting his shoulder. But he didn't care, because all he cared about at that moment was Lily.

"You must exist in this world, Lily. Because you are more important than you think." James kissed her forehead, as her dry lips finally curved into a small smile. "And you are correct. Without you, how could we have Harry?"

Lily looked over James' shoulder, towards the screen in the living room, at the mention of Harry. The boy was safe and sound in Hagrid's coat, grinning happily even when the thunder was rumbling over their heads and the wind was pounding the glass panes. As the sleepiness made his eyelids felt heavy, Harry closed his eyes. And at that very last moment before his eyes shut, Lily thought: Harry’s eyes were really beautiful, just like hers.


	4. Chapter Three

James tried to stay awake until Harry woke up and went to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. He was quite proud to see his son being well-known by so many people.

"Delighted Mr Potter, just can't tell you. Diggle's the name. Dedalus Diggle!"

"I like that man." Said James, pointing at the screen, as Lily yawned and crawled up from the bed. "But that guy seemed suspicious." James narrowed his eyes at the stuttering Quirrel.

"What did I miss?" Asked Lily sleepily.

"Nothing special. Sit down here." Said James, patting his laps. Lily grinned softly then sat down on James' laps. They turned to the screen to see Hagrid tapping the bricks.

"Here it is. The epic moment!" Lily squealed cheerfully, as she used to feel like Harry when she was at his age.

"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

Harry was stunned by the beautiful, crowded and magical street as Lily and James grinned at each other like fools. Hagrid lead Harry inside, along the path with stores followed by stores. Harry looked at the broomsticks store, just to see kids whispering about the new Nimbus 2000.

"They have 2000 already? The last time I check it was only 1000!"

"The last time you check was last year, James." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Hogwarts still wouldn't let kids have brooms in the first year? How am I suppose to wait until Harry's second year?" James groaned in disappointment.

"James, why are you so sure that Harry will be good at Quidditch? He may have more of my traits, and he may be the top students, who knows?" Lily smirked st James.

"No, I won't let it happen. I bet 10 galleons that Harry will become a Chaser like me!" James said with full confidence.

"I bet he will become a Seeker. Look at his body-build. Small and quick, fits best for a Seeker." Said Lily mater-of-factly.

"Deal?" Asked James, raised his brows at his wife.

"Deal," Lily smirked as if she was very sure James would lose.

They eyed each other competitively before turning back to the screen as Harry and Hagrid entered Gringotts and a goblin asked for their key.

"Wow, what a surprise to see Hagrid keeping dog-biscuits in his coat." Said Lily sarcastically as James snickered.

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore." Said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-know-what in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

"What is that You-know-what?" Asked James.

"As if I know." Lily shrugged.

"What's the You-know-what in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Asked Harry as they walked into the narrow stone passageway with dim light.

"Like father, like son." Lily chuckled at the similarity.

"See? He may be more like me than you!" James said with enthusiasm.

"Whatever." Lily rolled her eyes before glancing back at the screen which showed Harry, Hagrid and the goblin Griphook in the cart, on their way to Harry's vault.

"I remembered the first time here: I was awestruck." Said James matter-of-factly.

"So was I! It was the best ride I have ever been on." Said Lily excitedly, her tone changed suddenly.

"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

Lily facepalmed while James burst into fits of laughter.

"He definitely is more like me than you, Lil!"

"Oh sod off, James, he is not at school yet! How can we know?"

"What is that? Is that the James Potter vibes I get from Harry? Hmm, I can feel it with great clarity!" James grinned widely, closing his eyes dreamily, just to receive a smack on his head by Lily. "Hey!" He said, covering his head in pain.

Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold Galleons. Columns of Sickles. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.

"I don't remember having this much money." Said Lily with surprise

"When have we not had this much money?"

Harry was now speeding towards vault seven hundred and thirteen -- Dumbledore's vault. Lily and James settled down on their bed again nervously, hoping to find out about the You-Know-What that Hagrid had mentioned.

"Top security vault." Said Lily automatically as they saw the no-keyhole vault.

"It must be something bloody extraordinary." James guessed.

But when the door swung open, all they could see was an ugly little package. Hagrid walked inside and picked it up, tucked it deep inside his coat and returned to the cart.

"What the -- "

"A package? How important a thing that fits into that package could be?"

"I don't know... It's Dumbledore's, so it must be important." Lily shrugged.

As Harry reach Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, he saw a boy who was fitting for his robes in the shop too. The boy had a pale, pointed face with platinum blonde hair. He wore an uninterested expression on his face before he saw Harry.

"Is it -- the person I'm thinking of -- ?" James startled, stood up suddenly.

"I'm afraid so." Said Lily darkly, grimacing at Draco Malfoy.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said Malfoy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to took at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." 

"That gi-- "

"He actually got a point about the broomstick thing -- Ouch, Lil!" James had earned another smack on his head by no other but Lily.

"He is a total jerk! No doubt, being raised by Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy..." Lily muttered grumpily.

"Play Quidditch at all?" Asked Malfoy still.

"No," Harry said, and James was quite sure his son was dead confused; he couldn't wait until Harry could play Quidditch.

"Poor Harry, oblivious about almost everything." Said lily empathetically.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been -- imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" Said Malfoy, as Harry still tried to act as if he knew what Slytherin and Hufflepuff were.

"That little git! Hufflepuff is just as good as any house!" Lily crossed her arms in disapproval, disliking the blonde boy more and more.

"I say, look at that man!" Said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in. 

James knew what would come, and he slowly grabbed Lily's sleeve.

"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said Malfoy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?" 

At those words, Lily exploded. She shot up furiously, attempted to blow up the screen.

"THAT'S IT. Bombar-- "

"Blimey! Lily, chill! You don't want to cause an explosion here, do you?" James pulled an angry Lily back down her chair, luckily he had seized her sleeve tightly enough. "Living in the Afterlife had trained me to become patient and not hexing everything in view. I think you are doing the reverse."

"Did you hear what that git call Hagrid?" Grumbled Lily, gesturing every single word, her eyes twitching.

"Yes, Lil, but it's not worth it, you just literally can't do anything. Remember you smacking Lucius Malfoy in the face in our sixth year for bullying a second year? Take that as revenge." said James calmly, but inside he had thrown Draco into the Shrieking Shack on a full moon with Remus twice, and had set the Malfoy Manor on fire three times.

"Yes, I remembered it." Said Lily more calmly, exhaling slowly.

"See? Good. Now back to our son."

"Do you?" Said Malfoy again, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said Harry shortly, as Lily let out a few uncomfortable cough and James took a deep breath.

"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"Uh oh." James whimpered, glancing sideways at Lily, who was clutching her fist perhaps a bit too tightly.

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?" 

And before James could react, Lily stormed towards the screen, pointed her wand furiously at it, and sent four hexes straight to the surface (may or may not right where Malfoy's face was showing) and the screen shattered into pieces.

"Lily!"

"I DON'T CARE! THAT MALFOY GIT IS INSULTING MUGGLE-BORNS!" Shouted Lily furiously, not knowing that hot blood was pumping in James's veins; he couldn't stand it either.

"Calm down! It's alright! We can't do anything either way." Said James sternly, trying to soothe himself down too. He pointed his wand at the screen fragments and muttered "Reparo."

The screen mended back magically into the same smooth glass surface, as the image appeared again, showing Harry eating an ice-cream.

"If I'm not mistaken that must be a chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts ice-cream our son is eating!" James changed the subject ethusiastically. "That's my favourite flavour."

"You are still as childish as always, James." Lily gave her husband an eye roll after calming down and sat down on the edge of their bed again.

"What's up?" said Hagrid.

"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?" 

"I will never be able to get over this." James groaned as he collapsed onto the bed. "My son knows nothing about Quidditch."

"You will be fine, James. I'm sure he would inherit your Quidditch talent." Lily snickered.

"He better be." Muffled James into the pillow.

"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about Malfoy (whom he didn't know the name yet) in Madam Malkin's.

" -- and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in -- " 

Lily shifted in her seats uncomfortably at these words.

"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were -- he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles -- look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"

"I find that a bit offensive," Lily muttered, frowning.

"Oh, common' Lil your sister forced Harry to sleep under the stairs for ten years." James sat up straight, throwing his hands into the air frustratingly.

"She is still my sister after all," Lily mumbled sadly, remembering about the previous night when Petunia had spat out all her thoughts about Lily -- a freak. She avoided James's worried eyes, but he knew his wife so good, he knew how Lily felt; nevertheless, he did not speak.

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"

"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but --"

"Hey Hufflepuffs are not duffers!" Said James, trying to diffuse the tension.

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.

"No, he ought to be a Gryffindor," James said sternly.

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."

Lily was deep in her thoughts again. She remembered Severus Snape, her old friend, who was bullied by the Marauders before going to the Dark side -- Voldemort's side. She knew Snape was teaching at Hogwarts, and she had a fear, that he would treat Harry unfairly, as an act of nasty revenge to all the bullied years by James. 

"Vol-- sorry -- You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"

"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid. 

While Harry and Hagrid went off for more shopping, Lily rounded at James with a heavy sighed.

"Sever-- "

"Snape. I know. He is teaching at Hogwarts. I have the same concern as you." Said James grimly.

"Will he treat Harry badly to you know... revenge?" asked Lily impatiently.

"High chance. But we can't do anything. If he does something too horrible, I allow you to hex the screen, better at his extra big nose."

"That's not nice, James. And when did you have to give me permission to do something?" Lily flipped her hair as she turned around, facing the screen again.

"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley," said Harry suddenly as Lily facepalmed and James laughed out loud. 

"That's my son!"

After a while, Harry had got himself everything, except his wand. As they reached Ollivander's (with Harry's new Snow Owl that Lily absolutely adored). Entering the store, Lily could see that Harry's expression was exactly the same to hers at her first time trying out her wand.

"The important moment is here!" James said, grinning broadly.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.

An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"I wonder if this man ages at all. He looks just as same as when I got my wand." Said James, looking at Mr Ollivander, still swinging his legs enthusiastically like a child.

"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

"It was indeed!" Said Lily, looking impressed. "He has the best memory ever. And yeah the eyes thing, people say that every time."

"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it -- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." Said Mr Ollivander again, as James nudged Lily on her side, winking. Lily had always known that James was an illegal Animagus in the form of a stag, and becoming an Animagus required advanced Transfiguration skills.

"And that's where..."

Mr Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger. Lily could sense the uncomfortableness on Harry's face.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."

He shook his head and then, spotted Hagrid.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr Ollivander, suddenly stern.

"Er -- yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.

"But you don't use them?" said Mr Ollivander sharply.

"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke. James and Lily snickered at Hagrid's bad lie.

Mr Ollivander started measuring Harry by his magical tape before let him try a few wands. The results were not good. James and Lily nervously edged closer to the screen.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere -- I wonder, now -- yes, why not -- unusual combination -- holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." 

Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious..."

Lily and James turned around, face to face, and stared at each other in confusion. 

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"

Mr Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather -- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother -- why, its brother gave you that scar." 

Harry swallowed, as James and Lily sat speechless, as if they were petrified. 

"W- What?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave comments about your thoughts or ideas for future chapters!


	5. Chapter Four

"Bye, Jamie." Lily took her handbag and opened the door, ready to go.

"Wait, wait, Lilypad. Where are you going?" James rushed towards the front door, where Lily was standing.

"I'm going out. It's obvious." Said Lily with an eye roll.

"With who?" James said, raising his brows at her.

"Marlene. We're going shopping."

"Marlene McKinnon?"

"Who else is my best friend and has the name Marlene and dead?"

James stood still for a while. His mind was dragged back to the days Marlene was always Sirius's favourite victim, they teased each other back and forth, but never actually a couple. Nevertheless, the mention of Marlene reminded James of Sirius, when they were happy at school together... That was long before the Dark time arrived, long before Marlene's death. And long before Sirius went to Azkaban. A vague grin etched upon his lips when he recalled Lily's plan to make Sirius and Marlene a couple, but however not so successful which involved a black dog and the Sirius star at one am by the Black Lake. But James frowned when he remembered the ugly truth: those were only memories.

"Hullo? Earth to James!" Lily waved her hand in front of James's eyes, which woke him up from the daydream.

"Wh-- huh? Oh, yeah -- just, go." James turned around, trying to hide the obvious sadness that was spreading across his face. Obviously, Lily knew what happened.

"James, you are thinking of Sirius, right?"

"No. I'm not. Go have a fun day with Marlene, Lil."

"I'm not a fool. It showed clearly on your face, James. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong."

James pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He looked up at Lily's glimmering green eyes.

"It’s just -- I never actually get over with the fact that people are parted because of death and war. Happy families like us, friends like Sirius and Marlene... The war was just too much... I believe, sooner or later, Voldemort will return to full power, and perhaps, even stronger than last time... And more families will be parted, more--"

"Shh," Lily put her finger onto James's mouth. "Yes, Voldemort will return to power, sooner or later. That's why we have to enjoy our peaceful life now, and they have to enjoy their peaceful life now."

James gazed at Lily's green eyes, which strongly reminded him of Harry.

"Right. Just go, Lily. I will be fine." James smiled at Lily, and she smiled back gently.

"Goodbye, James." Lily blew a kiss then closed the door behind her. She had gone.

As the door shut, James returned to the living room with a mug of Butterbeer. Turning on the screen, he changed the location to a certain cell in Azkaban. Even when he wasn't there, James could feel the icy breeze from the Dementors, which were gliding in the corridors. One of them opened Sirius's cell door and James straightened up his back a little bit, his face grimaced. Sirius instantly transformed into a black dog and waited until the Dementor floated away, to change back into his human form. James sighed and smirked to himself.

"Still the smartass, huh?"

\--------------------------------------------------

"Merlin's beard, Lily, come on! Why must you stay in the kitchen all day?" James complained as Lily calmly wandered into the bedroom with a tray of tea.

"Tea, James." Lily ignore Jame's complaint and put the tray down on his lap. "Drink. It's healthy."

"For Godric's sake Lily we just drank tea yesterday! And we are dead, for the sake Merlin! We don't need to be healthy! We don't even age!" James threw his hands in the air, just to receive a deadly glare from Lily.

"Next time I would just put some Draught of Living Dead in that thing," Lily muttered as James slowly edged away from his wife. "By the way, James, did you read today's Daily Prophet? About that outrageous break-in at Gringotts?"

James grimaced as he sipped his tea darkly.

"Yes, yes I did. Surely a weird case isn't it?"

"And more importantly, it was on the same day Harry and Hagrid was at Gringotts," Lily added.

"Do you reckon that package..."

"My guess is as good as yours, James." Lily sighed as she picked up the remote control and clicked the button.

The tension was diffused when they saw Harry scrambled in his bed and sat up, putting on the rounded glasses before climbing down the stairs to the ground floor. Since Harry's birthday, it had been a month, and that month was not the best one for Harry. The Dursley had pretended that Harry's chair was empty in every meal, and Dudley had run away from him every time he was in sight (the pig tail was still there, wiggling when he ran, in the Potter's amusement). James was actually not so sure if he should feel happy about that or not, and Lily felt that Harry was thinking the same. James also broke the record of fifty-two times insulting the Dursley's and now the number on the calendar for the high score, according to Lily, was 57.

"Er -- Uncle Vernon?" said Harry quietly.

Vernon grunted to show he was listening.

"Er -- I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to -- to go to Hogwarts."

"That was blunt," said Lily, sounded not surprised at all. "Just like a certain prick sitting next to me..."

James gasped dramatically as if Lily had just insulted his reputation. He collapsed ono the bed and started clutching his chest in an even more dramatic way.

"My heart! It is badly hurt by your stabbing words! I can't believe it! My very wife! You’re tearing me apart, Lily!" James whined, sounding sarcastically hurt.

"Drama queen, I supposed? Now I'm calling you Drammy." Said Lily casually with an eye roll.

"Wait, what? Another nickname? Does Jamie not sound bad enough?" James sat up and groaned.

"Just sit down Drammy, and drink tea." Lily sipped her tea casually with a sly smirk.

"Where is this school anyway?" Asked Vernon.

"I don't know." Answered Harry, as Lily nearly spit out her tea when she tried not to laugh as Harry pulled out the train ticket Hagrid gave him. "I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock."

"This is where it gets awkward," Lily said wisely as if she had experienced the situation. Oh, wait...

"Platform what?" Vernon and Petunia stared at Harry with a bemused expression.

"Nine and three quarters," Harry repeated.

"Harry is so innocent it's highly amusing to watch." James smirk.

"That was also my family trying to find platform nine and three-quarters. It was chaotic." Lily chuckled.

"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked.

"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."

"I love Hagrid." James wiped off a fake tear from his eyes.

"Drammy." Lily smirk.

"Hey!"

The next day James woke up as early as Harry, accurately five in the morning. Harry had prepared a great trunk and the Dursleys and he reached King's Cross station at half-past ten. Harry was setting his trunk on a trolley when he suddenly caught Vernon's nasty grin.

"The blonde bastard!" James crossed his arms frustratingly, as Lily crouched up the bed and marked the first tally of the day.

"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine, platform ten. Your platform must be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" Said Vernon nastily as Lily bit her lips, trying not to say something terrible and James gave the screen a rude hand gesture.

"Have a good term." Said Vernon with a sly smile before leaving Harry, standing in the middle of the platform. He created quite a scene of course, with his owl Hedwig's cage on the trolley. 

"Oh no here comes the awkward moments..." said Lily, facepalming.

Harry tried to ask a guard about Hogwarts, which turned out quite an odd conversation, while James started pointing at the barrier behind Harry desperately.

" -- packed with Muggles, of course-- "

The Potters widened their eyes and looked at the plump woman who was walking with four flaming red-haired boys, and especially, they have an owl.

"Molly!" Said Lily enthusiastically. She and James had known the Weasley family since they joined the Order of Phoenix, and she was a quite good friend with Molly Weasley. The woman had married Arthur Weasley, a Ministry worker but also a member of the Order. Her two brothers had sacrificed bravely on a mission against the Death Eaters, but Molly stayed strong and that was the reason why Lily had always admired her and looked up to her as a bigger sister. In the time in the Afterlife, she had occasionally checked some of the families of several Order members, including the Weasleys.

"Fred, you next." Lily was dragged out of her reverie by Molly's voice, as one of the red-headed boys pushed his trolley forward.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George." Said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear." 

"Only joking, I am Fred." Before Molly could open her mouth to speak, Fred and his twin had already pushed their trolley towards the barrier between platform nine and ten, then vanished out of sight.

"I like this kid." Said James, nodded in appreciation, but Lily didn't pay attention at him, instead, her eyes glued on Harry, who was blinking curiously at the very solid wall.

Now, the third red-headed brother had walked towards the wall with his trolley, and also, disappeared mysteriously.

Harry now frowned in confusion. He walked towards Molly and awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Hello dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new too."

Lily and James glanced sideway at the tall, long-nosed, freckled and of course, red-haired boy, who stood next to his mother and his trolley, also as awkward as Harry.

"Oh, this must be Molly and Arthur's sixth son, Ronald," Lily remembered him pretty clearly, as he was born just a couple months before Harry.

"Yes," said Harry nervously. "The thing is -- the thing is -- I don't know how to -- "

"How to get to the platform?" She said kindly, as Lily smiled fondly at her and Harry nodded. "Don't worry, dear, all you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platform nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go before Ron."

"Er -- okay," said Harry.

"Wow, our son agrees with a complete stranger to crash straight into a very solid-looking wall at a run." Said James sarcastically, smirking. "Seems like my son."

"Yes, he really got it from you, Drammy."

"Of course, he's my son -- wait, what?" Lily chuckled when James finally caught on. But inside, she was thinking about how it could have been her, Harry's mother, to go with Harry through the barrier, instead of another boy's mother. The painful thought twisted her heart sorely, but she held her tear back and smiled faintly before looking back at the screen, avoiding James's eyes. But without asking verbally, James could still see deep through his wife's head and understood her pain. James looked down and also smiled dreamily to himself as his mind was filled with the same idea as Lily’s: himself by Harry's side, together pushing the trolley through the wall and towards the famous platform nine and three-quarters, with the familiar scarlet steam engine already awaited, welcoming him back to the good old time, when Sirius, Remus and Peter were standing there, waiting for him to join them, and together, they began their mischievous journey once more --

"Gran, I've lost my toad again."

James train of thoughts was broken by the voice of a boy, as he looked up and see the boy's round face on the screen, looking sad and worried.

"That boy looks... he looks familiar! Looks like someone we knew, right?" Lily narrowed her eyes at the boy, as James suddenly realized.

"He looks like Frank!"

"Wait, so it means he is -- "

"Oh, Neville!" Harry heard the old woman sighed, as Lily and James exchanged astounded looks. 

"That is -- "

"Yes -- "

"The could-have-been Chosen One -- "

"Longbottom, yes."

There was a moment of silence, as the same thoughts ran through the couple's minds. Neville Longbottom, whose parents also defied Voldemort three times, and also was born "as the seventh month dies", could have been the child was mentioned in the prophecy instead of their son, but Voldemort chose Harry instead, with a still unknown reason to Lily and James at the moment.

Avoiding each other's eyes, Lily and James glanced back at the screen, which was showing Harry walking along the narrow corridor of the Hogwarts Express, looking sideways frequently for an empty compartment. Lily and James sighed at the supposed-to-be familiar place, but now it was oddly unfamiliar to both of them somehow.

"Ouch!" Harry suddenly winced painfully as the trunk dropped onto his feet the second time, and Lily even looked like she was in more pain than her son, according to the frown on her face and her tightly grasped hand in James'.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. James suddenly smiled brightly.

"Yes, please," Harry panted.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"

With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment furthest at the back of the train.

"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. Lily felt oddly uncomfortable every time someone noticed Harry's scar. After all the backstory to that scar was not a happy one.

"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you -- ?"

"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.

"What?" said Harry. 

"He is as oblivious as you, Drammy." Lily chuckled.

"Hey!" James made a face at her.

"Harry Potter." chorused the twins.

"Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am."

Lily laughed but James didn't. He stared at the screen, bemused.

"In all fabulous personalities of mine," James said, still frowning. "He inherited my oblivion?"

"Unfortunately, he does." Lily snickered as she looked back at a blushing Harry. "Aw, he's blushing!"

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mom."

Harry sat down next to the window where, half-hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose."

The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.

"Mom -- geroff" He wriggled free as Lily slightly chuckled at how similar Molly was to James's mother when they were at the platform before second year.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got something on his nosie?" said one of the twins.

"Shut up," said Ron.

"Where's Percy?" said their mother.

"He's coming now."

The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.

"I can sense that this boy won't be funny -- " James said shaking his heads in disappointment.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves -- "

"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once -- "

"Or twice -- "

"A minute -- "

"All summer -- "

" -- But these two definitely do have the prankster blood running in their veins." James's face brightened up at Fred and George's joke as Lily rolled her eyes at the idea of another generation of the Marauders.

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.

"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term -- send me an owl when you get there."

She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.

"Now, you two -- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or-"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Neither me and Sirius! How come we didn't think of this brilliant idea?" James exclaimed as Lily decided not to comment.

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."

Pranksters. Thought Lily, half disapproving, half excited to see what the twins would come up with.

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"

Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking. Lily grinned at Harry's awkward behaviour.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

Harry heard the little girl's voice.

"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, oh please..."

"Already has a fan, doesn’t he?" Lily sighed as James eyed his wife proudly.

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there -- like lightning."

"Poor dear- no wonder he was alone, I wondered." Lily smiled fondly at her old friend, knowing that someone is still caring about her son was happy enough for her.

James seemed to think the same, and the couple smiled at each other faintly again, not knowing how much more tears they will shed, but both, hoping that it would be happy tears, like the ones they tried not to shed today.

"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat."

"Officially my favourite redheads." Said James with a large grin, before noticing Lily's glare. "I mean, favourite Weasleys -- "

The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.

Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Lily and James felt as if they, again, were eleven-year-old kids, peering out the windows in enthusiasm. Lily knew every year on September first, James would watch the Hogwarts Express travel from the platform to Hogwarts through the window of a random kid in the train, sometimes even from the train's rooftop, but this time, with Harry, it was oddly a thousand times more interesting and exciting for James.

The door of the compartment slid open and the Ron Weasley was at the doorway.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.

"Hey, Ron."

The twins were back.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train -- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron.

"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

"Another fan," James smirked.

Harry nodded.

"Oh -- well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got -- you know..."

He pointed at Harry's forehead.

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared as Lily winced uncomfortably again.

"So that's where You-Know-Who -- ?"

"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."

"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.

"Well -- I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." Lily now was highly uncomfortable and she stood up and exited the room with the door left ajar. James followed calmly, as this situation was strangely common every time they visited Godric's Hollow and saw the wreckage of their house with the memorial statue or on every Halloween.

Lily was standing outside at the gate, staring at a clearly undamaged house with watery eyes. Jets of green light flashes through Lily's memory like a bullet shot through her head: painful and deadly.

"Lily -- "

"This is so fake."

"What -- "

"This house. It's so fake. I was supposed to be a wreckage. And this unrealistic and unharmed house makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to live -- in the Afterlife of course -- with this fake memory. It makes me happy but blinded me from the ugly truth. I rather live with an ugly, but true reality than being happy in this too perfect place. Being too perfect like this is too -- wrong. Nothing is perfect. It seems happy but inside, it's forcing us to forget why we are here. But I don't want to forget, James. I want a motive for me to keep watching Harry every day. I can only do it, to make sure Harry won't be here with us soon. I don't want to live a lie. I want the truth."

Lily's eyes were very watery now, and she burst into tears and cried into James's chest. He hugged her tightly, running his fingers through her hair. As he kissed her forehead, James turned around to the empty house opposite to theirs, whose owners are no longer lived in, and flicked his wand. A golden line encircled the house and slowly, a wreckage of the Potter's house appeared in front of Lily's wet eyes.

"You don't have to live a lie anymore. You can have the truth now, Lil."

"Thank you, James."

The two stood staring at the grim old house, for a moment that seemed like forever, but no one left their spots, because they both had the same feelings at that moment: the feelings of being alive again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see I love to add dramatic moments that doesn't tevilve around the main plot because I want there to be something more interesting than just the good ol' canon. Suggest me things to write about besides canons!


	6. Chapter Five

Lily had prepared a grand feast for dinner that day. The dining room represented a smaller version of the Hogwarts's Great Hall: a night sky ceiling (even though not as pretty as the Hall's), a hundred of floating candles above, and two pairs of golden plates and goblets were set neatly on two sides of the table.

"Lily, you missed the funny part! Our son bought the whole sweet trolley and literally roasted that Malfoy kid! And - Oh Merlin - "

James stood frozen at the doorway to the dining room as he entered, his eyes widened in awe.

"You - you did all of these?"

"Well, duh? Being Professor Flitwick's favourite gotta have some benefits, isn't it?"

James was still unable to close his jaw as he hugged his wife with a wide smile.

"Thank you so much for this! I have never thought of- "

"Because your dim mind can not think of something as brilliant as mine, of course!" Lily chuckled.

"Hey!"

"Just kidding, Drammy. We should sit down, last time I check the train is almost there."

James muttered something about the stupid nickname but sat down his chair nevertheless. As he settled down in his seat, a familiar sensation poured back into his memory: the image of the Great Hall, packed with people, and he, sat by Sirius, Remus, Lily, and even Peter seemed closer than he had ever remembered.

Lily turned on the screen, as the doorbell suddenly rang. She was about to stand up when James shot up from his seat.

"It's a surprise, Lily, I will get the door."

Lily raised her brows in confusion, but still sat back down to let James to open the door.

As the door swung open, an old couple stood at the doorway, beaming at James, who was also grinning broadly.

"Mom! Dad! You came!" James said in enthusiasm as he sprung his arms around Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, and the couple did the same.

Lily poked her head out from the kitchen, and as she saw her parents-in-law, her eyes brightened and her mouth opened in surprise. She ran towards them and pulled them into a family group hug.

"Merlin's beard! I didn't know you would come!"

"Oh, Lily, darling, we have been missing you two too! James invited us to dinner for Harry's sorting ceremony! After all, he is our grandson, right, Fleamont?"

"Oh, of course, yes, indeed!"

The full family walked back into the kitchen, where the screen was showing a gigantic man, holding a lantern, leading a group of tiny kids in black robes to the side of the Black Lake. Lily prepared two more seats and sets of golden plates with goblets for Fleamont and Euphemia, as the first years climbed into the boats clumsily by Hagrid's instructions, and the boats started to sail.

The four spotted Harry with Ron, Hermione and Neville on a boat near Hagrid's, as the enormous castle of Hogwarts started to appear behind the trees.

All four of the Potters had exactly the same feeling: the feeling of being small again, being able to ride the boats across the famous Black Lake to their second home once again. The beautiful castle stood solemnly in the night sky that seemed like a mattress of stars covering the whole surroundings. The scene to them was oddly familiar but so new at the same time. They could see each of them on the kids' faces, they had the same expressions as them.

As Hagrid knocked on the door three times, it sprung open and revealed the person behind it: A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes.

"Aah! Finally! Minnie!" James rang cheerfully as Lily rolled her eyes with a grin and the old Potter couple chuckled at their son's unchanged childish behaviour.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The huge entrance hall welcomed the first-years with the stone walls and flaming torches. The high ceiling and magnificent marble staircase led to the upper floor still managed to awe the Potters after many years.

They were led to an empty chamber before McGonagall started to talk to the students again.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"Still the same speech after all these years? Can't she think of a better one?" James complained.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin (James frowned at the name). Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"I gotta admire her to remember her speech every year," Said James, arching her eyebrows. "Can you imagine Minnie rehearsing this speech a month before this day every year?"

"Actually," said Lily, thinking deeply about the image of a tabby cat reading a roll of parchment. "I can."

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

"Yeah and she also still scares the hell out of the children. We don't need to 'smarten up'." James chuckled at the kids' innocent and concerned faces.

"And Harry, flattening your hair seems a bit hopeless," Lily said, smirking at the direction of James. "When you inherited from this git," Lily smirked as James glared at her.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

"Aah... how naive they are," James smirked, remembering about the oblivious kids stood around him before his sorting, but he had already known, as his father had already told him.

Then something happened that made Harry jump about a foot into the air - several people behind him screamed.

"Lemme guess, the ghosts right?"

Harry gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years.

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost."

"Peevsie my mate, he did something again, huh?" Said James brightly at the mention of his partner in crime.

After the awkward conversation with the first-years, the Fat Friar drifted away as McGonagall returned.

"Now, form a line," she told the first years, "and follow me."

Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

As James and Lily inhaled deeply, the strangely splendid place came into view. Lit by the same floating candles like the ones in their dining room, the four long tables represent four houses were shining with golden plates and goblet. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. McGonagall led the first years up there so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The bewitched ceiling was glittering with what looks like thousands of stars, as Hermione whispered to Harry about it.

"I remember you saying the same thing to Snape when we first came - "

But James stopped abruptly when he saw the pale, cold face with a hooked nose and greasy black hair over at the High Table.

"Oh no."

"I forgot Severus is a Professor now..." Lily mumbled as Fleamont and Euphemia eyed each other nervously. They sure know the hatred James had given to Snape all his school life. And for a bit worse, Severus Snape was a former Death Eater, Voldemort's follower

James glared at Snape suspiciously but then focused back to Harry, because he told himself that the night must be about his son, and he could keep an eye on the slimeball later.

McGonagall now silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat, which was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. The Sorting Hat.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth.

"Let's see how creative this year's song is," James smirked as the hat began to sing:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole hall and the Potter's burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

"I really like those Fred and George kids. Potential pranksters." James nodded wisely.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

The Sorting now started. Lily and James held each other's hand tightly all the way through the ceremony. They clapped for all the other kids (because they were indeed pleased to see Draco got sorted into Slytherin), especially when Neville and Hermione got sorted into Gryffindor. But they went silent when the name they were waiting for was called.

"Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

Lily felt an uncomfortable jolt in her stomach every time someone refer Harry as someone special because she didn't want him to recall how he was special. Nevertheless, she let the feeling go and grasped James's hand tightly.

The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat.

The Hall went silent. The Hat went still for about a minute. But it was perhaps the most intense minute of Lily and James's life.

"GRYFFINDOR!" As the Hat shouted the word, Lily and James shot up from their seat and clapped enthusiastically, perhaps a bit too ecstatic. If someone other than James's parents were there, they would think that England had just won the Quidditch World Cup.

"WOOHOO!" James cheered, doing his victory dance

"YES! GO, MY BOY!" Lily shouted with excitement, she was beaming with happiness and pride.

Harry took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. Everyone nearby poured towards him and started shaking his hands and giving him back pats while the Weasley twins chanted "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

After Ron was sorted into Gryffindor also (Harry, Lily and James also clapped loudly), Albus Dumbledore stood up from his seat. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered.

In a blink of an eye, the food had magically appeared on the tables of the Hall: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

James found himself rubbing his stomach too when he stared hungrily the food on the screen. He could even smell the fascinating smell of the food. Then he suddenly remembered - he screen does not allow the Deads to smell things in the Living world.

He turned around and his expression was oddly familiar to Harry's: the dining table was filled with the exact same food with the ones he just saw on the screen, Lily was still levitating a jug of pumpkin juice by her wand, pouring the sweet liquid into Fleamont's goblet.

"What are you waiting for, James? Sit down and eat!" Fleamont said merrily with a mouthful of potatoes.

James sat down and grinned widely. He felt alive again.

After a while of chatting and eating, James was very full, so he glanced sideway back to Harry, who was having a treacle tart. He looked at the High Table to see the familiar faces of Hagrid, McGonagall and Dumbledore. James eyed the turban of Quirrel curiously, but then he caught the eyes of Snape again, and it seemed like so did Harry.

It happened very suddenly. Snape looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes - and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead.

"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.

"James shot up abruptly from his seat, grimacing at the screen with a concerned look.

"What is it?" asked Percy and Lily at the same time.

"N- nothing." Answered James and Harry, who both scent that the pain had gone as quickly as it had come.

"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked Percy.

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to- everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

James frowned at Snape, who stopped looking at Harry. He felt like Snape will be an obstacle in Harry's life somehow. But in a way, James felt relieved that Dumbledore didn't let Snape to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. After all, he used to be on the Dark Side.

At last, the desserts disappeared, and Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"I found my people." James wiped away a fake tear as Lily rolled her eyes.

"I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials (James shuffled in his seat at the mention of this) will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Harry and James laughed, but they were some of the few who did.

"He's not serious?" Harry and James muttered to Percy and Lily.

"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore, as Lily shrugged.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, as Lily and James grinned at each other. "and off we go!"

And everyone bellowed:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Everybody finished the song at different times. Lily finished before James in the tune of the Beatles's Let it be, and James was done just a few moments later in a randomly dramatic tune that sounds most similar to a dying horse. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. The route to the Gryffindor tower was just the same as James and Lily remembered: through moving staircases and corridors of talking paintings. Finally, when the kids were already dead tired, they found themselves standing in front of the large painting of the famous Fat Lady.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it, and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cosy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

James and Lily held each other's hand, smiling brightly. The familiar room that they had lived in for seven years held all the best memories of their life.

That was the place that made them felt like home.

Lily heard a sob down in the living room that night.

Walking down the stairs, she turned around to see her husband sitting on the couch in the dark room, the only source of light came from the running screen in front of James.

"James, what's wrong- "

But before Lily could finish, she had paid intention to the open window beside James. Behind the misty clouds in the stary sky, there was a bright orb, round and bright.

"Full moon." Lily grimaced. "Remus - "

"Is not okay at all." Said James with a sob, his face in his hands. He took out his glasses and placed it on the coffee table. He didn't dare to look up to the screen again.

James seized the remote control with this trembling hand and pressed the mute button, as the painful growling noise ended abruptly. Lily bit her bottom lips, her face frowning. She slowly sat down next to her husband, who was shaking violently.

She knew why James was sobbing. Remus Lupin, one of the Marauders, James's best friend was a werewolf. Before their deaths, James, Sirius and Peter would accompany Remus in every full moon in their Animagi form: a stag, a dog, and a rat. But since James died, Sirius being captured, and Peter threw the Potters under the bus, Remus was all alone every full moon. James had been watching him monthly, and his tears had always failed to be kept inside. The image of his best friend, suffering for ten years, seeing his body getting more battered and battered every day, was like a stab in James's heart. Sirius in Azkaban, Remus all alone, nothing could be worse.

Lily put her hands on her husband's shoulder and rubbed it soothingly. Her eyes went hot, and she found herself crying a few seconds later.

James turned his head and looked at Lily, whose green eyes were watery and nose was red.

"This is - "

"Don't, James. You start this rant every time. Don't be worry, James, he had survived eleven years without you, did he? One more night would be nothing for him."

James tried to stop sobbing but he couldn't seem to do it properly. This was one of the very few situations when he felt weaker than Lily. He couldn't help but lean his forehead onto her shoulder and cried.

Staying strong for too long had its disadvantage too: the longer you stay strong outside, the weaker you would feel inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i usually add these emotional scenes that are relevant to the story in some part of the chapter, so comment what ypu wnat me to write about in future chapters!


	7. Chapter Six

The first week at Hogwarts of Harry had been a funny one for James and Lily. Watching their son finding his way through the castle and still had to manage to avoid Filch and Peeves was a fun activity. James constantly shouted shortcuts to Harry and encourage him to make Filch mad while Lily demanded him to pay more attention in class.

Finally, it was Friday, the day that both James and Lily had dreaded: the first Potions class with Snape. James had sworn to Merlin that if Snape treats Harry badly, he would hex the screen into oblivion. Lily dozed off all morning and almost served James fried eggs with shells for breakfast.

It was breakfast at the Great Hall, and James and Lily, as well as Harry and Ron, had settled in their seat with their breakfast.

"I repeat, I swear if Snivelus - "

"Don't call him that - "

" - Treat Harry like shit, I'm gonna Avada him after he dies. No, I'm going to Crucio him! Make him suffer after death - hey what are you doing?"

"Marking another tally on the calendar." Said Lily casually.

"But I didn't insult the Dursleys!"

"Since Harry has finally gotten rid of them, I change it into every time you insult Snape." Lily smiled mischievously as she took another sip of pumpkin juice from her goblet.

James grumbled at the total of twenty-three the previous day on the calender, but said nothing and swallowed another piece of pancake.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favours them - we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Of course it's bloody true!" James groaned.

Suddenly, hundreds of owls came souring down from the ceiling, encircled their masters' head and drop them mails and packages. Hedwig had not brought Harry anything so far, and Lily wished she could write to him, but that day they saw a white dot among the blacks and browns. Hedwig dropped Harry a letter, as Lily and James exchanged curious looks. Unsealing the letter, Harry read the untidy written words on the note:

Dear Harry,

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?

I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.

Hagrid

"Hagrid sent Harry a letter? He could have just told him in person." Said James, bemused. "Unless..."

"Unless he wanted to send Harry a letter so he can have mails and feel less lonely..."

Lily and James glanced at each other, then at Hagrid's letter, and back to each other again. Both of them suddenly felt great appreciation towards the half-giant.

After the breakfast was the double Potions. Harry and Ron left for the dungeons, which seemed colder and darker than what James remembered.

Snape started the class by taking the roll call, and he paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new- celebrity."

Draco Malfoy and two of his friend sniggered as James clenched his fist furiously.

"I knew it! I knew it! Did you see that tone of his voice when he said that! He loathes Harry!"

"Drammy Jamesie, sweetheart, I believe that is not the worst yet." Said Lily with a heavy sigh as she marked another tally.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

"That is not the best prep talk to a bunch of scared first-years, but calm down James, no more direct insults so far." Said Lily.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"Okay forget what I just said." Said Lily as James's eyes widened.

"That's not a question to ask a first-year, you big nose slimeball!" James had shot up from his seat, ignoring Lily marking another tally dully.

Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.

"I don't know, sir," said Harry.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut- fame clearly isn't everything."

"That horrible filthy cockroach!" Shouted James furiously as Lily's mouth opened wide agape and she dropped her quill, didn't even care to mark another tally.

Snape ignored Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"Even I forgot that!" James said in frustration.

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't seem to have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter, and James looked like he is going to punch the screen.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

"So you really expected that kid to remember everything from the book, huh Snivelus?" James groaned as Lily crossed her arms in disbelief.

Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling while James groaned loudly and Lily shook her head, grinding her teeth.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

James and Lily chuckled; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. James's mood suddenly lightened up by knowing that his son did inherit his sense of humour. Snape, however, was not pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

James sat down, his arms crossed and he exchanged angry looks with Lily, who sighed heavily.

Snape suddenly said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

That was the last straw for James, as he held up his wand directly at the screen and the next moment, the screen was blown into pieces.

"James!" Lily said with her hands on her hips.

"Didn't I told you? If he insults our son I would hex the screen into oblivion. He should start to prepare for a Cruciatus Curse as soon as he reaches the Afterlife." James said with his fist clenched tightly as Lily sighed and pointed her wand at the blasted screen, muttering "Reparo."

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, and Lily let out an angry gasp. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

"You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Lily had managed to hold James's sleeves back before he can reach for his wand again.

"But it's unfair! He is just trying to find a reason to take points from Harry!"

"But you gotta calm down, James!" Said Lily sternly. "Didn't you tell me to calm down? If this is the first day, it's not gonna end soon!"

This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.

"Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."

James grumbled and sat down, but inside, his blood was boiling with anger and hatred towards Snape. Lily sighed and turned to James.

"Not to be dramatic, but I really expected more from Severus." James scoffed at her remark.

"Really? I didn't expect anything from that fool."

"Gotta say, I'm pretty mad. And I'm pretty sure this is just a stupid grudge for you, James. His behaviours are just childish at this point," Lily sighed again, biting her lips. "The victim of bullying has become a bully. What's new?"

At five to three Harry and Ron left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid's small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest was just the same to what Lily and James remember: all their visits as a kid, how could they forget?

When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang - back."

Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.

"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."

He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of Fang the black boarhound.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.

"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.

"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."

"Correct: half your life chasing the Weasley twins and us Marauders." Said James, grinning.

The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.

Harry and Ron, as well as James, were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."

"An' as fer that cat, Mrs Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her - Filch puts her up to it."

Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.

"But he seemed to really hate me."

"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"

"Er, isn't it obvious? Because he is taking revenge on me!" Said James grumpily.

But both Harry and James noticed that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.

"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot - great with animals."

James wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cosy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet :

GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST

Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.

Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.

"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.

"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"

There was no doubt that Hagrid avoided Harry's eyes. James and Lily both seemed to notice. They eyed each other in suspicion. Was the package in Dumbledore's vault the thing the thieves were searching for and why must he hide it from Harry? Lily looked at James with determination as she said:

"We are going to find out the thing behind this."


	8. Chapter Seven

"Lilylilylilylilylilylily," James squealed loudly at six am one day when Lily was still asleep. "Doyouknowwhatdayitistoday?"

"For Merlin's sake James since when have you been waking up early?" Lily groaned and covered her ears by the pillow.

"ItsthefirstflyinglessondayLilyyougottawakeup." James talked excitedly, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Flying day you say?" Lily's mood suddenly brightened and she shot up from the bed, looking wide awake. "The day we know if our son is a mother's or father's boy?"

"Yes, dear Lily, we are going to see the best Chaser in the Wizarding World fly today."

"Why are you so sure about that?" Lily sat down next to James, raising her eyebrows.

"Because of course he is going to be a Chaser like me!" James puffed his chest proudly.

"Didn't we make a bet about would Harry be a Chaser or Seeker?" Lily smirked. "Wanna change your mind? It's 10 galleons you are betting."

"No!" James gasped dramatically as if he was offended badly. "You underrated me! You can't change my mind!"

"Well, let's see then." Lily shrugged, still wearing a smirk on her face.

As Harry woke up and went off to breakfast with Ron, Lily had already brought James their breakfasts.

"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

"Rubbish." James scowled with a mouthful of bacon and eggs.

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."

"Obviously." Lily rolled her eyes.

Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams (which was one of the few times James agreed with him) and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.

"Really, though, the Malfoy kid sometimes makes sense," James said matter-of-factly.

The mail arrived. A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

"A Remembrall, huh, I'm not even going to ask why." James sniggered as Lily shot him a look. "Andddd it turned red. Somehow I'm not surprised."

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.

Harry and Ron jumped to their feet and James dropped his bacon.

"What's going on?" McGonagall rushed towards them with a stern face as Lily sighed in relief.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."

Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table, and James muttered something about hoping McGonagall had not interfered so Harry could have an excuse to hex Malfoy.

"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

James snorted at Malfoy in disgust.

"That blonde bastard."

At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. James refused to leave the screen to go to the bathroom and lily had to take out the portable screen for him.

"I only use the portable screen when I go outside so you're being very lazy, Drammy." Lily scowled at James.

The Slytherins were already there when the Gryffindors arrived, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles. James shook his head at the quality of the schools' brooms.

"I'm pretty sure I have used one of them when we were at school."

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP" everyone shouted.

Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, which made James cheered loudly as if his son had caught the Snitch in the Quidditch World Cup Finale.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry, Ron and James were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years. Lily smirked with pleasure.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two-"

But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Neville!" Lily gasped, standing up. James widened his eyes, the boy had flown up a bit too high.

"Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle - twelve feet - twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and -

WHAM - before James and Lily could react, Neville had already landed with a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.

"Oh lord, it's just the first day." Lily sat down with her hand on her face.

James sat down next to Lily, rubbing her back.

"Trust me, Neville would be fine. I had worse injuries in Quidditch - "

"Yeah, but, that's when you are fully covered with knee caps and stuff." Lily scowled at James, which made him grumble before glancing back at the screen, where Madam Hooch was leading Neville towards the Hospital Wing.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.

"I'm not surprised." Lily shook her head in disappointment.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?"

The other Slytherins joined in.

"Oh shut the fuck up, Slytheshits." James said in frustration.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Go random-Gryffindor-girl-that-I-did-not-bother-to-remember-the-name!" James grinned as Lily tried to tell James Parvati's name but decided not to at an afterthought.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Did I just tell you to shut the fuck up, Pugface?" James said, pointing at the screen angrily, as if interacting with the people in the screen.

"James, she is an eleven-year-old. But didn't I tell you that the Slytherins won't stop? Things like this would happen on a daily basis." Lily shrugged casually.

"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.

"Oh hell no, Blonde Bastard!" James scowled at Draco and suddenly, Harry stepped forward.

"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.

"Go Prongslet!" James stood up and danced around happily as Lily casually sipped her tea, muttering to herself: "Classic Potter trait. Can't blame Harry." James didn't quite catch that.

Malfoy smiled nastily as James narrowed his eyes.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find - how about - up a tree?"

At these words Lily froze and slowly leveled her teacup down, blinking.

"Oh Merlin." She swallowed.

"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. James and Lily both staring at the screen with an expression mixed between excitement and shock?

"Come and get it, Potter!" Malfoy shouted again as he hovered at the topmost branches of an oak. Lily suddenly realized the next thing that would happen and clapped her hand into her face.

"According to the Potters Rulebook," James said matter-of-factly, with the widest grin on his face. "Harry would do - this!"

James pointed at the screen as Harry grabbed his broom.

"When did we have a Potter Rulebook?" Lily separated her fingers on her face to look at the screen before seeing Harry mounting his broom and shut her fingers back again. "I'm just - I'm not going to watch this."

"Talking about that, I'm going to start a Potter Rulebook. Rule #1: Always act rightfully."

"You mean 'Always act idiotically'." Lily corrected him, her hand still on her face.

James gave her a look before returning to the screen.

James widened his eyes with joy when he saw Harry soared up swiftly towards Malfoy with no difficulties. He gave out a howl of what he called 'pure happiness' which mostly resembled a dying horse.

"What is that James?" Lily removed her hand from her face, and when she looked at the screen, her eyes also widened, but instead of joy, it was horror.

"Merlin's crunchy knickers! Our son - Harry - he is flying the goddamn broomstick - Madam Hooch said - "

"I don't bloody care what she said, Harry is a natural flyer! This is the happiest day of my life!" James wiped off his fake tear as he sniffed.

"But you are dea- "

But before Lily could finish her sentence, James had already let out another roar of delight as he saw Harry dived swiftly and easily down on his broom to catch the Remembrall. Malfoy and the Slytherins were in pure shock, while the Gryffindors cheered cheerfully.

"That's my freakin' son, Ladies and Gentlemen! That is HARRY FREAKIN' POTTER PEOPLE!"

Lily facepalmed but let out a small smirk at James dancing his Victory Dance (mainly resembled the Chicken Dance with a few improvisations).

"Rule #2: Must be an excellent flyer!"

"HARRY POTTER!"

James's Victory Dance stopped abruptly. Professor McGonagall was runnign towards Harry. Lily paled as she facepalmed again.

"Rule #3: Always get in troubles," Lily said with a heavy sigh.

"Never - in all my time at Hogwarts-"

"You're doomed, son." James threw his hands into the air desperately. "Here lies Harry Freakin' Potter, the Boy Who Died because of a bespectacled tabby cat."

Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, " - how dare you - might have broken your neck - "

"It wasn't his fault, Professor -"

"At least someone has common sense." James muttered hopefully.

"Be quiet, Miss Patil -"

"Oh, so that girl's name is Patil." James made a mental note to himself.

"But Malfoy - "

" - was too much of a Blonde Bastard - "

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley - "

"Actually, I'm Potter - " James pointed out.

"Potter, follow me, now." McGonagall said sternly as Lily shook her head in desperation.

"Your Potter Rulebook screwed our kid, Drammy."

"Dammit I thought you forgot that name."

"Not in a million years."

Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to Harry, which made Lily even more nervous. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her.

Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

Lily arched her eyebrows in confusion, eyeing James for an answer but then realized it would be just as hopeless.

Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused.

"Wait, this boy is in the Gryffindor's Quidditch team," James wondered as Lily shrugged.

"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry.

"In here."

Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.

"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.

"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood - I've found you a Seeker."

Lily appeared to choke on her tea as James looked stunned for a moment, standing petrified before the screen.

"S- she said what?" James turned around slowly at Lily, whose mouth was wide agape and had tea stain on her t-shirt.

Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.

"Are you serious, Professor?"

"Yeah, good question, Oliver Wood, are you serious Minnie?" James stared at the screen for a proper answer. He thought his ears had lied to him.

"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"

Harry nodded silently. James was now seemed to believe that it wasn't a dream. He again, did his Victory dance, this time even more vicious.

"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."

Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once, but his expressions could not being compared with James's.

"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.

"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.

"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light - speedy - we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor - a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."

"Merlin frozen yougurt!" Lily exclaimed as James kept dancing: he was feeling pure happiness.

"THAT'S MY SON! A SEEKER! THE YOUNGEST SEEKER EVER! I'M SO HAPPY, SLAP ME TELL ME IM NOT DEAD- "

"But you are- " Lily pointed out, but James seemed to have missed it.

"DON'T MESS WITH THE POTTERS!" James shouted at the screen, roaring with happiness.

"I admit I didn't expect this from McGonagall, at all," Lily said, still bewildered. "By the way, James, I didn't expect to say this so soon, but, where are my 10 Galleons?"

James's grin suddenly turned into a frown.

"What 10 Galleons?"

"Oh, you remember, our bet." Lily said, smirking, her legs crossed. "You bet Harry would be a Chaser and I bet he would be a Seeker. I won."

James recalled the bet that they had made earlier of the school year and mentally swore.

"Goddamit."

"You're joking."

It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.

"Sorry, Ron, he is not." James said with proud, as he swallowed a dinner treacle tart.

"Seeker ?" he said. "But first years never - you must be the youngest house player in about - "

" - a century," said Harry, shoving pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."

James wiped away a fake tear.

"I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."

Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.

"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too - Beaters."

"Did I tell you I love these two? I can even just adopt them right now." James said.

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"And James danced," Lily said, chuckling.

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Pfft no way. We have found all of them." James said in an amused voice.

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

"We found it on the first day." James said proudly. "Accidentally."

Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcomed turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Oh good lord." James and Lily said in sync.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

"Deffinitely not today." James said with satisfaction in his voice.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.

"He inherited my sass, Lil." James said as Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

Lily choked on her tea again.

"WHAT? No our son is NOT going on a wizard duel!"

"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Lilily facepalmed.

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.

"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

"This is going to be fun." James said, smirking.

"What? No James! Our son is breaking rules on his first week? No he's not going to be like you!" Lily exclaimed.

"Chill, Lily, we can't help, can we?" James shrugged with a smirk while Lily muttered something and sat down.

"I bet Malfoy is tricking Harry." Lily said.

"How can you be sure?" James said, but a bit reluctantly.

"Well, let's see, shall we?" Lily smirked. "10 galleons."

"What - not again - "

"20 galleons."

"But we share our money Lily - "

"But don't you like competitions?" Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Dammit."

When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other.

"What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"

"Well this is going nowhere." James facepalmed.

"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie.

"Wow, I like the Weasleys." James said, nodding.

Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"It will, son, don't worry." James said.

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.

"Sounds like what I would do." Lily laughed in appreciation.

"Excuse me."

They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.

"Granger Danger." James groaned.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.

Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying - "

"Bet you could," Ron muttered.

" - and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.

"Good-bye," said Ron.

"They shouldn't treat the girl like that!" Lily said in frustration. "Treating people like scum like your father, Harry?"

"Come on, we are not speaking of that anymore!"

"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."

"Lily wake up they are going!" James shook Lily, who stired in her sleep lazily.

"Alright then..."

"I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."

"Fuck." James cursed internally.

A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.

"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"

"Well you're certainly not her mother." James commented.

"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy - he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."

"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.

Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.

"Dammit Hermione." James groaned.

"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Well she sounds like Lily."

Lily shot her husband a glare.

"Go away."

"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so - "

But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.

"Trouble," Lily nudged James with a smirk.

"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.

"Go to hell - "

"James!"

"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."

They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

"No shit," James esclaimed with a groan. "No, just, no."

"You are not."

"Good choice, son."

"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."

"Lily, honestly, you and this girl would be best friends." James groaned.

"You've got some nerve - " said Ron loudly.

"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. I heard something."

It was a sort of snuffling.

"Uh oh..." James and Lily eyed each other meaningfully.

"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.

It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. James sighed in relief, though Lily squinted her eyes anxiously at the boy. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.

"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get into bed."

"Poor Neville," said Lily, shaking her head.

"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

"How's your arm?" said Harry.

"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later - "

"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

James groaned again, while Lily chuckled "Not the worst company you can get, son. Imagining going with Malfoy."

"Then it would be the dead of him." Said James.

Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.

"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."?"

"Did I mention that I like this boy?" James said, grinning.

Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, James guessed, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.

"Nice, son." James smirked.

They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.

Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet, which made Lily skeptical. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. James felt nostalgic, recalling the detentions with the Marauders cleaning trophies. James frowned at the memory. It was now just the past.

The four kids edged along the walls, keeping the eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.

"Or he had lured you imto a trap," said Lily with a nervous sigh, shaking her head. "He simply can't use his brain before doing anything, right?"

"Like father, like son." James said, chuckling nervously.

Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak - and it wasn't Malfoy.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

The kids and the couple widened her eyes. For a momemt, James felt like his heart stopped beating. It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped around the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."

"I knew it!" Lily scowled in frustration. "Malfoy did this! He catfished our son!"

"Again, like father, like son." Added James, his jaw clenched.

"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.

The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.

"Well, shit - "

"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following - they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going - they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.

"I - told - you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I - told - you."

"Should've listened to the wise one, shouldn't you?" Said Lily, smirking and nudged James, who grumbled.

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."

"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."

Lily nudged James.

"Let's go."

It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.

It was Peeves. James facepalmed amd groaned.

"Peeves, I like you, man, but not now."

Peeves caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Peeves - please - you'll get us thrown out."

Peeves cackled. Lily couldn't watch any longer.

"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"No, Peeves, no." Said James, commanding the screen.

"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

"Holy shit - "

"I'm so done with this shit." Lily said, throwing his hands up. "Do mischieves is not too bad, son, but never get caught."

"He's already violating the damn Marauders' Rules." James said. "Rule number one, never get caught doing mischieves."

Ducking under Peeves, the kids ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door - and it was locked.

"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"

"Dun dun dun duuuun." James sang dramatically, drumming his laps.

"Oh, shush, James, you are not helping." Said Lily anxiously, sitting on the edge of the bed.

They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "Alohomora!"

"Finally! Someone who actually acknowledge their magic." Said Lily with a relieved sigh.

The lock clicked and the door swung open - they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please.'"

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go ?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.

"All right - please."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Haha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

James laughed loudly, and Lily chuckled. "At least he is helpful this time."

"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay - get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "What?"

Harry turned around - and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare - this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.

Unfortunately, the Potters saw it too. James's grin turned into a frown in less than a second.

They weren't in a room, as Harry had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.

They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

"Merlin saves them - "

It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Lily knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

Harry groped for the doorknob - between Filch and death, James recommended his son to take Filch.

They fell backwards - Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared - all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.

"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.

"Never mind that - pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.

James and Lily were still in shock. They exchanged looks and tense breathes.

"I guess our son won't have a normal year, James."

"Sounds about right, Lily," James said breathlessly. "sounds about right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything you guys want me to write about outside the main plot? Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter Eight

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

"Lily, you have been repeating that girl Granger's sentence all week - "

"Hermione Granger is my spirit animal don't you dare to speak of her that way."

"Lilypad, I swear to Merlin - "

"Drammy."

"I'm giving up."

"Good luck, Drammy."

"I don't like that Granger girl." James huffed. "I'm team Ron."

Lily smirked, "I'm team Hermione."

James narrowed his eyes "Watch out, Granger."

"Mind your way, Weasley," Lily replied with a sly smirk.

"What do you mean by tha- " James found out by himself when he fell facefirst on the floor. He tripped on the broomstick, which he pretty sure wasn't there a moment ago.

"GRANGER!"

Lily laughed and flopped down the bed. She turned on the screen and started sipping her tea.

It was another morning in Hogwarts, and Harry and Ron were chatting casually, and still not on a speaking term with Hermione when James sat down next to Lily grumpily with folded arms.

"Team Ron."

Lily rolled her eyes and was about to reply when the owls arrived, and in their surprise, an owl dropped harry a package and then a letter. Harry looked as confused as the Potter, and he decided to check out the letter first. Inside said:

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.

It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.

Professor McGonagall

James gasped loudly as he finished the letter. And before Lily could stop him, he had already leapt onto the bed and did his happy dance.

"I know Minnie loves Harry! He's a Potter, that's too obvious! I LOVE YOU, MINNIE!"

Lily laughed and shook her head. She was happy too, of course.

Harry seemed to have difficulty hiding his glee, too (which made James proud) as he handed the note to Ron to read.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."

They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall, they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.

"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."

"Blonde bastard - " James was about to pull out a series of profanities when Ron spoke.

"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

James grinned proudly "Team Ron."

"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."

Before Ron could answer or James could use his profanities, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, it is," said Harry, as the Potters fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added.

Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. James and Lily looked more satisfied than ever, and James cackled louder.

"My son got my sass!"

"Not trying to hurt you, Drammy," said Lily, chuckling "But the person Harry inherited his sass from is probably me."

James stopped cheering and turned around to look at his wife.

"Team Ron."

"Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team..."

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them.

James sighed "Ah shit, here we go again."

And as James had predicted, Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand. Lily brightened at the arrival of the girl.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry. James nodded his head crossly.

"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good." James sniggered at that and received a light smack in the head by Lily.

Hermione marched away with her nose in the air. James scoffed again, receiving yet another glare from Lily.

"James, you are literally a grown man and an eleven-year-old girl has more common sense and logic than you." Lily retorted, which James took full offence for.

"So I guess my maturity died with me." James huffed. Lily seemed like she was gonna say something back but decided that it was not worth her time.

James' day went by more slowly than it should, and he could see it on his son's face as well. Harry looked more impatient and annoyed than usual in class, and James couldn't blame him. Lily knew something was up when James didn't finish his lunch, which rarely happened. The last time James left something behind on his plate for lunch was when was waiting for the Quidditch World cup finale of 1991 to air.

"Honestly, I know you're impatient but we can't really do anything about it but wait, Drammy." Lily sighed as she took the dishes away. James nodded half-heartedly, his eyes still on the screen. Lily rolled her eyes.

Finally, the time arrived and James, in Lily's words, "looked like a hyperactive baboon on a sugar rush". He couldn't remain on his seat as Harry and Ron rushed to their room and unwrapped the parcel.

"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.

James was in awe with the broomstick, and apparently, so did Harry. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top. It was every Quidditch player's sweetest dream.

"I am so happy." James sighed, with a foolish smile on his face.

Lily shook her head and laughed. "Sometimes I think you love Quidditch more than you love me, Drammy."

As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. James, again, didn't pay much attention to his food and his attention were for Harry instead. His eyes glimmer as Harry stepped his foot into the all too familiar field. The surge of nostalgia flooded James again as he remembered his glorious time as the star of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Of course, this was not the first time he saw the field after he died, he had observed every Hogwarts match from the screen. He even had some favourites (Charlie Weasley of Gryffindor and Rhonda Harper of Ravenclaw, for example). But this time, seeing the Quidditch field with Harry made James feel like the first time he saw it again. The magic seemed to double and his love for Quidditch grew even more. He made a mental note to come over to the Prewetts' for a match later.

James saw Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. His heart grew prouder as he saw his son swooped in and out of the goalposts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. James wondered if they sell this broomstick model in the Afterlife.

"Hey, Potter, come down!"

Oliver Wood had arrived. James smiled at the Quidditch team captain. He was quite impressed with Wood's passion for Quidditch. Some would say Wood was more of a Quidditch fanatic than James, and that really said something.

Oliver Wood was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm as he approached the field. Harry landed next to him.

"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. James grinned proudly. "I see what McGonagall meant... you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."

Lily entered the room and put down a tray of biscuits and tea. James looked up gratefully.

"You're the best, Lily." He pulled her down onto the couch and kissed her. "Harry is having his first Quidditch lesson, it's interesting so far."

Lily smiled as she sipped her tea. "Ooh, I wonder if he would turn out better than you. I bet he would, honestly."

"I would not even be mad." James grinned.

Oliver Wood opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.

"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."

"That's me!" James said proudly.

"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.

"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"

"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So - that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"

"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously.

"Never mind," said Harry quickly. Lily chuckled.

Oliver Wood quickly explained the positions of Keeper (which was himself), Beaters (with the demonstrations of the Bludgers), and finally, it came to Harry's position.

"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages - I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.

"Well, that's it, any questions?"

Harry shook his head. James smiled at his son. He really was a fast learner.

"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these."

He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.

Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. James and Lily cheered each time Harry caught the ball, and James was drowned in pride. He murmured to Lily about something like 'the Potter gene'. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.

"That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily and James nodded in agreement as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."

For the following two months, James made sure to be present on every Quidditch practice, while Lily kept track closely of Harry's academic lessons. Both of them were highly proud of their son. Although, James still insulted Snape on a daily basis.

On Halloween morning, James woke up to the smell of pumpkin pie and he drifted down the stairs in excitement. Hugging Lily from the back, James pecked Lily's cheeks softly and grinned broadly at his wife.

"You're literally the best chef ever, Lil."

Lily chuckled, "Of course I am, James."

Harry also had a good morning at Hogwarts. In Charms, Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan. Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived. James frowned at the tension.

"Geez, they're still mad at each other, for some reason, huh?"

Professor Flitwick proceeded to explain the levitating charm.

"Swish and flick!" Lily said in sync with Flitwick. "I still remember this lesson til this very day."

However, it was very difficult for the kids. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it - Harry had to put it out with his hat.

Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," James and Lily heard Hermione snap. James heaved out a sigh "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"I can't believe an eleven-year-old can be so pretentious." James huffed.

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads. Lily clapped her hands while James gave the screen a look.

"I still don't really like her manners, though."

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class, James noted.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. James and Lily - and was startled to see that she was in tears. They eyed each other worriedly.

"I think she heard you," Harry said and Lily nodded.

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

Lily frowned, "That's not nice, Ron."

James scratched his neck. "Yeah, Ron, I like you but I gotta agree with Lily this time."

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds. Though fascinated by the decorations, James and Lily were still concerned with Hermione. So they checked, and indeed, she was crying in the bathroom.

"Ron ought to apologise soon, honestly," Lily said disapprovingly.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

Lily waved her wand and the food appeared in front of James. To him, it was as good as Hogwarts' feast. He beamed at his wife and gave her a kiss. He looked down at the pumpkin pie that he helped Lily with baking. Fortunately, it looked decent. He beamed in pride.

Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. James was too busy eating to notice but Lily tapped him on the shoulder to look up. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

There was an uproar. James and Lily looked at each other in panic. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

"Yeah, that is necessary." Lily sighed, still shocked.

"Follow me! Stick together, first years!" Shouted Percy Weasley, Gryffindor's prefect. "No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.

"I wonder that, too, son," James said, looking shaken up.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."

"Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if that's actually the case," James admitted.

Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm as the passed a group of Hufflepuffs. James and Lily looked at each other in confusion.

"I've just thought - Hermione."

Lily gasped as she remembered, "The girl is still in the bathroom!"

"What about her?" Ron asked

"She doesn't know about the troll."

Ron bit his lip.

"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."

Lily swallowed, "This is not gonna end well. He's becoming more like you, James."

"Oh, he really is," James smirked.

Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.

Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view. James and Lily grimaced.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Search me."

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps. Lily held her breath and clutched James' hands in anticipation.

"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.

"Can you smell something?"

Harry sniffed around. And then they heard it - a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed - at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.

It was a horrible sight, James decided. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. Lily tensed up at the creature and winced as the troll dragged his gigantic club with it.

"Oh, Merlin, I don't wanna watch this." Lily yelped, tightening her grip on James' hands. He swallowed hard, his throat went dry.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."

"Good thinking, Harry - " Lily frowned, " wait - isn't that the bathroom Hermione was in?"

"Good idea," said Ron nervously.

James and Lily looked at each other in fear.

"Call an adult, Harry!" Lily groaned desperately, "He's impulsive like you, James."

James swallowed hard, "Not a good thing right now."

They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.

"Yes!"

"Oh no…" Lily muttered hopelessly.

Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage (James tried to shoult at them to return), but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop - a high, petrified scream - and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.

"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.

"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.

"Hermione!" they said together.

"Thank god they realized," Lily sighed, "Not sure if it's too late or not, hopefully not."

It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.

Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.

James' hands got sweaty and he felt himself trembling. He saw Lily crossing her fingers.

"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.

Lily winced but she nodded. "Yes, good thinking."

The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.

Lily tensed up and hugged James. James swallowed breathlessly.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.

Lily heaved a sigh but the stress was not over.

"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.

The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

Harry then did something that James decided was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.

"HARRY!" Lily yelped in terror, "What is our son doing?"

The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped - it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.

James and Lily both flinched when Harry's wand was jabbed straight up the troll's nostril. James let out a groan of disgust.

"Even I wouldn't have done that," James shuddered, "He has more guts than I do."

"I'm still not sure if it's a good thing or not." Lily frowned.

Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.

Lily winced visibly, "Oh Merlin please no," She swallowed, "Please Merlin keep my son safe."

Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand - not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Lily looked up with a hopeful gaze. The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over - and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.

Lily and James both visibly heaved out a sigh of relief. Lily finally managed to release James' trembling hands.

Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.

It was Hermione who spoke first.

"Is it - dead?"

"Oh dear, I sure hope it is," James grimaced.

"I don't think so," said Harry, I think it's just been knocked out."

James frowned, "What are you even waiting for? Getting out of that place before you guys get caught! Remember the Potters' rule? Don't get caught!"

Lily shot him a look but said nothing, apparently still shaken up by the event.

Harry bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.

"Urgh - troll boogers." James grimaced.

He wiped it on the troll's trousers. Lily scrunched up her nose in disgust.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps got their attention. James groaned, since he knew they were sure to be caught. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape (with James' distaste), with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Lily rolled her eyes, "What did Dumbledore think, hiring this man. He doesn't even look qualified for the job."

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. James flinched at the fury in her face. James had seen that look before and it never ended in anything good.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. James gave Snape the same look. Harry looked at the floor.

Then a small voice came out of the shadows.

"Please, Professor McGonagall - they were looking for me."

James looked surprised, "Okay this is quite unexpected."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.

"I went looking for the troll because I - I thought I could deal with it on my own - you know, because I've read all about them."

Ron dropped his wand. James and Lily's eyes widened. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them. Lily raised a brow disapprovingly.

"Well - in that case... " said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung her head. James was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

"Perhaps," James said slowly, "Granger has rights after all."

Lily shot him an I-told-you-so look, "Team Hermione."

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Hermione left.

Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

James grumbled, "Yikes, I thought they have successfully lost points. Guess Minnie has other ideas."

Lily gave him a look, "I kinda have to disagree with McGonagall here, they have put themselves in extreme danger and it's not something to celebrate."

Harry and Ron hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.

"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."

"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."

"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him. Lily snorted at Harry's brutal honesty.

They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pig snout," they said and entered.

The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.

James raised his eyebrows, "I sense something brewing here."

But from that moment on, James and Lily witnessed Hermione Granger becoming Harry and Ron's friend. The Potters agreed that there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

\--------------------------------------------------

Lily rushed into the kitchen that afternoon, her eyes widened in fear. James looked up in confusion, a feeling of dread growing inside him.

"Lily, what's wrong?" He asked, his voice terrified.

She swallowed, her voice trembling. "I found out something. Our son is in danger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops, sorry for the cliffhanger but comment on what you think about the chapter! I appreciate all of your kudos and reviews!

**Author's Note:**

> Leave some comments about what you think!


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